Always striving to be transparent and sincere as I learn what the Love of God truly means. "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15)

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Joy: Five Minute Friday

Another week, another chance to write on a one-word prompt for only
five minutes. We set timers, type quickly, and let it flow without
criticism. Then, we link-up our posts so we can read others' posts and
they read ours and we have a community that grows from one word each
week.Five Minute Friday.

Go!

This week's word is "Joy". What a fun word! Truly, it's pretty difficult to say "joy" in the English language without the corners of your mouth turning up. And, it happens to be my OneWord365for the year. Joy, however, is not equal to happiness. In our language, we always equate happiness with joy, but sometimes joy is a choice. I am resolving to make the choice of joy, so I combine those three words and get re-jo-ice.

There are lots of verses encouraging us to rejoice in everything. I think it comes down to that deep, deep, non-temporary part of us.I've finally figured out that joy is as simple as counting backwards from five.

"Will this matter in...5 hours
4 days
3 weeks
2 months
1 year?"

And, if it's a temporary upset or annoyance that will have no bearing in the long-term, I can choose to let it pass. I must take a deep breath and relax. I will not let Satan steal my joy.

This summer a movie called "Inside Out" was released. It's a children's film all about the struggle for control inside the mind of an 11 year old girl. She has five main emotions, and Joy is at the head of the control. She's joined by Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger.

So during school spirit week, I dressed up as "Joy".

We were supposed to dress as superheros. I explained to the students that the power to bring Joy is very important and a supernatural gift.

What brings you joy? For me, it's causing others to smile and laugh. To solve problems. To bring peace. To encourage somebody that's weary. To build others up.

The best part about bringing joy to others is that it gets your focus off of those non-joyful temporary circumstances (or permanent ones) for the moment, so you can focus on what really matters. Eternity. Will people be drawn to Jesus because they met you?

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4) (NLT)

"For
our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they
produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" (2 Corinthians 4:17) (NLT)

Choose joy, my friends. We may be tired, or weary, or weepy for no reason, but those are not our truest truths. Our bodies are temporary and dying, but our spirits are eternal. Let the Joy of the Lord lift us up like it did for Nehemiah and the Israelites rebuilding the temple. It is in His Strength and Power that we can shine with joy when we're facing the bleakest moments of our lives.

~Tammy

P.S. Please tell me your url or linkup number at Kate's blog this week so I can find your post too! :)

16 comments:

love! I haven't seen Inside Out yet (I've been meaning to forever) but love your rendition of Joy. And I like your counting backwards from 5 technique... that's so clever. Thanks for the reminder to keep choosing joy! Have a lovely rest of your week, friend!

Jordan, It's worth watching. Even more than once! :) And thank you so much for the encouragement. The counting thing happened over the summer. I really needed it too! :DThanks so much for your visit.Love,Tammy

Summer, thank you so much. It's a passage that has many different meanings for us, depending on what portion of that passage we're working through. :)I had so much fun with blue hair (as it was temporary)! My students were a bit distracted by it, though.Love,Tammy

Anita, thank you! I learned it for myself over the summer. Somebody had posed "will this matter in 100 years" and most of the time, the answer is "no". But, the counting was for me to calm down and help my kids calm down. God is so good, making wise things simple.Bless you, friend!Love,Tammy

Tammy, I absolutely love this post! The parts about joy being a choice and that countdown rule? LOVE that... "will this matter in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1?" Thank you for sharing your joy today!! (I also wrote about Joy from Inside Out... #35)

Andrew, I would not count it late until next Thursday. As a teacher, you also give an extra day for each day a person misses class due to illness. You have a lifetime of passes now. ;) Congrats again, top dog. Sylvia. We would have had a very sad week without your help!

And thank you for keeping me updated, Andrew. You have brought a lot of joy my way this year with your wit and blunt humor.~Tammy

Tara, I would say "Cinderella" the newest release is my favorite movie from 2015, but Inside Out was a second close favorite. You will probably be more emotionally involved as an adult than you would as a pre-teen, but there's no inappropriate humor. Still, it's hilarious as an adult! Probably just how relatable all of the characters are.You bring me joy as well, Tara. I am so blessed to have your friendship-even if we've not had a chance to high-five in person. We will. Someday!Love,Tammy

I like the idea of your 5,4,3,2,1 countdown, and I think "Inside Out" is a great movie. I liked how you described Joy as a superhero- the ability to bring joy to others and help them focus on eternal truths, even in difficult temporary circumstances, is so valuable- and I think that's something you do through your posts here. Carly (#60)

Carly, you are such a sweet friend! I'm so glad that FMF has linked us together to spur each other on toward love and good deeds and great posts.I appreciate your encouragement. God has given me hope, and I know He can bring it to others. To be used in that way is so rewarding! You blessed me with your comments today.Love,Tammy

What a great idea! I didn't even recognize you in your pic on the link-up. I knew that smile but couldn't place ya until I got to the top of your blog! It's a cute cut for the wig(... fits your face well! :) Great words! Thanks for sharing with us! (visiting from spot 40 at FMF)

Rachel, ha ha, I'm in disguise! :) I wondered how much the picture would throw people off. It was so much fun.Thank you for stopping by and encouraging me. I'm looking forward to reading your post as well!Love,Tammy